


5 Times May Didn't Know How To Parent

by nachocheese26



Category: Spider-Man - All Media Types, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Awesome May Parker (Spider-Man), Gen, May doesn't know how to parent, Or at least she thinks she doesn't know, Precious Peter Parker
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-14
Updated: 2018-10-14
Packaged: 2019-08-02 07:11:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16300448
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nachocheese26/pseuds/nachocheese26
Summary: And the 1 time she did.





	5 Times May Didn't Know How To Parent

**Author's Note:**

> I love May Parker. But maybe I just relate to her because I have a nephew too and would do anything for him.

_1_

Babies scared May. Yes, a week after their birth, they’re cute and it’s nice when they aren’t crying and do those adorable cooing sounds. But only from a distance. Once that baby was in her arms, May felt completely useless.

She had no idea what to do.

And Ben understood. He understood a long time before they even got serious and after they married, he never pressured her. He never even brought it up. He _always_ understood.

So when Richard asked if they would be Peter’s godparents, he asked May first. Because he understood that it wasn’t just babies that scared her. It was being a _parent_.

May laughed when he asked her. Bringing up the subject so delicately she almost thought it was something serious. Of course they would be Peter’s godparents! They were his family. Besides, being a godparent was the best role in existence.

See the kid for a few hours, maybe take them for a weekend, stuff them with junk and help them break all the rules their parents had without any actual consequences. Then send them back to their parents and enjoy a nice movie with a bottle of wine.

But then five years after telling Richard and Mary yes, the real role of godparents had to begin.

He didn’t even have to tell her when she walked in with Peter after introducing him to the best sandwiches in Queens.

She knew just from the look on his face.

Ben sat Peter on the couch and explained in a way the five-year-old could understand. Mommy and Daddy weren’t going to pick him up after their trip. They weren’t going to pick him up ever.

And Peter was so smart and so _brave._

May watched from the kitchen as Ben held him and let him cry until he fell asleep. Then he picked him up and carried him to the guest room where he was staying.

That was going to become his permanent room now.

And while Ben was with Peter, May began thinking of everything that needed to be done. Starting with making the guest bedroom Peter’s. They had to plan the funeral, deal with their will, pack up their house, prepare for the inevitable visits from CPS.

All the while dealing with the new responsibility of raising Peter.

Pushing May into the role she never wanted. A mother-figure.

But she wiped her face from the tears before allowing herself to panic. There was a five-year-old that needed comfort from a dad _and_ a mom.

She just didn’t know how that looked like, considering her own mother had a…different style of parenting that May did not want to copy.

So she did what she thought Mary would do in a situation like this.

Bake cookies.

An hour and three bad batches later, Ben finally came out of the room.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

May’s head shot up from the recipe she was studying and could not for some reason seem to get. She pushed her glasses up, inadvertently getting flour all over the lenses. “Peter needs cookies,”

“You can’t bake though,”

She glared at him. He closed his mouth.

Ben stood there for a moment longer, watching as she poured baking power into the bowl, only to realize it was actually powder sugar halfway through. “Damnit!” she hissed, tossing the flour and powder sugar into the trash, making it four bad batches.

“May, stop. If you really want to give him cookies, we can just buy some from the store,”

“But that’s not what his mom would do,” she snapped.

Ben reached over and grabbed her hands before she could use up the last of their flour. “I have no idea if this is something Mary would or wouldn’t do. And right now she’s…” Ben swallowed hard and looked down for a brief moment. “Peter needs us, May. _Us_. Not an imitation of Mary or Richard. Sure, we have to worry about things like cavities and flu shots and report cards. But that doesn’t mean we need to change who we are,”

May wiped her face again, smearing more flour on her cheeks. “I don’t know how to do this, Ben. I don’t know how to raise a kid, how to be a parent,”

“Neither do I,”

She scoffed. “That’s not helping,”

“It just means we’ll learn together. Besides, this is easy part right now. We’ll really have to start worrying when he reaches puberty,”

May laughed, ignoring the watery sound of built up tears.

Ben pulled her into a hug and May cried. She lost two wonderful friends and gained a child, all in one night. And as she hugged Ben, she knew there was no way she could do this without him.

* * *

 

_2_

For a whole week, Peter had said maybe a hundred words. May understood. She didn’t feel like talking either. In fact, she spent most of her days crying, unable to believe she still had tears in her.

But Peter hadn’t cried and that’s why she was worried.

Even when she picked him up at the hospital, he hadn’t cried. Not one tear shed. And she had no idea what to do.

Ben would know. He always did.

But he wasn’t here anymore. It was just May. May and Peter. For however long the universe decided to let them live.

May was starting to think people with the last name ‘Parker’ didn’t have a long life expectancy.

She never pressured him to talk though. He was just…grieving. Just like her. She lost her husband. And he lost his uncle/father figure. Except May wasn’t sure if she was doing the right thing. Should she make him talk? Could he even talk to her? What if she needed to send him to a therapist? Maybe Ned could get him to talk?

And a recurring thought was coming up incessantly this whole week. How could she do this without Ben?

When Peter first came to them, he said they didn’t have to worry until he hit puberty. And Peter was right at that age and now Ben was gone and May had no idea how to deal with a pubescent teenager!

Before she could continue going down that vicious thought cycle that always ended with her crying, May heard something shatter in Peter’s room.

She shot up from the couch and ran into his room.

Peter was on the floor, little pinpricks of blood on his hands and a shattered picture frame in front of him.

A picture of him and Ben at the science fair last month. Ben had helped him with the project, if you called handing Peter what he needed when he asked for it helping. But Peter had won first place and Ben had been _so proud_. And Peter couldn’t stop smiling and May insisted on taking a picture of them.

Neither put up an argument and it became Peter’s favorite picture of him and his Uncle Ben.

It was also the last picture as far as May knew.

“I-I’m sorry…i-it w-wa-“

May’s attention quickly moved from the picture to Peter. His face was red and his breathing coming in quickly and he was shaking. For a moment, May thought something was horribly wrong. Aside from the fact that Ben was dead.

But then Peter’s face crumbled and he finally started crying.

May knelt on the ground and pulled him into a hug, ignoring the way the glass dug into her leggings

Peter buried his face into her shoulder, clenching her shirt as he hugged her tightly. He shook with sobs, broken phrases and apologies coming spilling from his mouth.

And May just held him, threading her fingers through his hair.

She didn’t know what to say. What to do. How to comfort him. She just prayed this was enough. And if it wasn’t, then that Peter would be okay with it.

* * *

 

_3_  

Everything connected and finally fell into place. The Stark internship, the lying, the sneaking out, the growing bags under his eyes.

May thought it was just teenage rebellion. That was something she could deal with. She understood that. She _went_ through that. And then she grew up because it was just a phase and Peter would grow up and the rebellion would just be a phase for him too.

Except this _wasn’t_ teenage rebellion. He was _Spiderman_! The friendly neighborhood Spiderman of New York!

Where in the parenting guide that she was never given did they explain what to do when your child plays hero, _literally?!_

Peter finally came out of his room, tugging at the hem of the sweater he had pulled on. May immediately recognized it as Ben’s sweater. Oh, was he trying to earn sympathy points? She’d be damned if she gave him any right now.

“Aunt May, I can explain,” Peter said, holding his hands up as if approaching a wild animal.

“Explain?! I don’t even know where that explanation should start?! What is this Peter?! What the hell are you doing?! You are making yourself a target! That whole Vulture thing that’s _still_ on the news! You could’ve _died_ and I would have to bury _another_ person!”

And when she finally said it, May fell silent. Peter had the decency not to say anything and to look apologetic. Combined with a terrified look.

“Give me your phone,” May said after a few moments.

Peter didn’t protest. Quickly pulling it out and handing it to her. “I accept any punishment. I mean, I still want to do this and well…I am going to keep doing this, but I totally understand that I should’ve told you from the beginning and it’s just that I was scared to and then Mr. Stark…”

May ignored his rambling. She unlocked his phone and began scrolling through his contacts. She couldn’t find the name she was looking for so she dialed what she hoped was the next best thing.

And Peter stopped his rambling when May pressed his phone to her ear.

“Who are you calling?” he asked, his eyes wide and the terror only growing.

_“What kid? You change your mind about joining the Avengers?”_

“The Avengers?!” May yelled. “You joined the Avengers?!”

“No, no, no, no, May! It’s not what you think! I’m not an Avenger! I mean, they offered me a spot, but I told Mr. Stark no,”

_“Oh, shit, Tony, it’s May. She’s on the line and she knows,”_

May ignored Happy and the fumbling on the other end as she stared at Peter. “I don’t know what to believe Peter! You lied to me about this, why should I believe you now?!”

_“Hey there, May. Tony here,”_

And as soon as she heard Tony’s voice, the rest of the anger she was trying to hold back came crashing through. Especially as she remembered the first time he came to announce Peter’s internship and how just a few days later, the Avengers fought each other at an airport in Germany and _Spiderman_ was there too. “You took him to Germany without even telling me?!”

_“Yes, I did actually. But it was for a very important-“_

May hung up. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, collected her thoughts, reigned in her anger, and… “What the hell, Peter?!”

“Look, I can explain-“

“No! No, I do not want your explanations! I just…” she took another deep breath. “Just let me think about this, okay? I need to…I have to process this,”

As soon as she spoke, the sound of multiple police sirens floated in from outside.

And Peter fidgeted, trying so hard to keep his eyes on her.

May pursed her lips. “I can’t send you to your room, can I? You’ll just sneak out again to keep saving whoever it is that needs saving,”

“No, you can! You can ground me and I’ll-“

“Just go, Peter. Help them with whatever it is, but you get your ass back here as soon as it’s finished. Understood?”

Relief washed over his face and he actually smiled before running back into his room. May sat on the couch, hearing the sound of his window opening wider and knowing that he was gone.

Peter was Spiderman. He was Spiderman and was developing a list of people who wanted him dead. And there was absolutely nothing May could do about it.

Peter’s phone began ringing. May didn’t realize she had been holding it this entire time. It was Happy Hogan. But May was sure it was actually Tony Stark on the other end.

She didn’t answer. He would only give her more explanations and she couldn’t trust that any of them would be true.

What was she supposed to do? What parenting course covered this information? It wasn’t like she could just google ‘help, my nephew is a superhero and his mentor is Tony Stark, what do I do??’

No, the real question was what _could_ she do? He was too much like Ben. Wanting to help others to the extent of sacrificing himself. And it didn’t help that Tony was becoming his mentor and the man was ten times worse in that area.

The only thing she could do was set ground rules. At least while he was under her roof and hope that he kept to those rules once he was out on his own.

Because May did not think she could bury another Parker.

* * *

 

_4_  

Ever since May found out about Peter’s secret, things changed. Not in a bad way. In fact, things actually went back to normal. Well, as normal as things could get when you have a superhero living under your roof with a metabolism that was more likely than not faster than Captain America's.

Peter was sharing again, telling her all kinds of stories from school and his patrol and upgrades for the suit. He was being honest again and May treasured this.

Especially since she knew it wouldn’t last.

It had only been a few weeks since she found out and May kept track of everything Spiderman did through the videos uploaded online. And so far, Spiderman had not encountered a serious fight that left him injured.

But she saw the videos from when he fought the Vulture. And she knew the moment he did get in a serious fight, the lying would come back. Because Peter didn’t want her to worry.

For now though, she was enjoying the honesty.

They had taken to ordering take-out and eating at home now. While eating dinner, they could talk about whatever and not worry about who would overhear. There was nothing they couldn’t talk about. With this being the case, it made May wonder why Peter had never mentioned Liz.

“So you never talk about Liz anymore. Everything all right there?”

Peter’s fork full of pasta paused on it’s way to his mouth. For a brief moment, May sees something flash in Peter’s eyes. She recognized it immediately as his questioning of whether or not to tell her the truth.

And just like the first time it ever happened, May feels a chill in her heart as she watches the internal struggle of Peter deciding if he should lie.

He lowered his fork and began playing with his food. “She, um…moved actually. She had to because…her dad…was, _is_ …the Vulture,”

May stopped chewing. The never talked about the Vulture. She preferred it that way because how were you supposed to talk about the time he was almost killed by a man stealing alien technology from the Avengers in a homemade outfit with no gear except for his web shooters?

“I don’t think it would’ve worked out either way so...it’s fine,” Peter said with a shrug.

May would have to be blind not to pick up on that lie.

It wasn’t like she could just say, ‘at least you’ll still be friends’ or ‘we have technology now and you can video call her all you want’. And she even held back from saying, ‘there’s someone out there for you’.

Because she knew Peter. He wasn’t going to give up being Spiderman anytime soon. Not even if the suit was taken away, as proven by Tony. Whoever Peter ended up with would have to be incredibly understanding and just as self-sacrificing as Peter. Maybe even more.

And if she looked at the lives of the Avengers and trusted the tabloids and gossip columns about their love lives, May wasn’t sure someone like that existed for Peter.

But how could she tell him that she didn’t think he would ever find love? That wasn’t what a parent was supposed to say.

She had been quiet too long and Peter was now looking at her with concern. So May reached over and gave his hand a squeeze. “I’m sorry, honey,” she said. “You’re still young,”

It must’ve been okay, because he smiled at her. “Thank, May,”

May smiled back and pulled her hand away to keep eating. Yes, he was still young. And she pushed away the thoughts of all the dangers of his job and how quickly it aged people. She did not think about the average life span of a superhero either.

She was the parent in this situation. And she had to keep it together.

* * *

 

_5_

May swallowed back a groan as she debated whether or not to pretend she didn’t hear the knock on the door. She had four potatoes to cut and she barely was getting started on the first one. They said this was a recipe for beginners and anyone could make it. But May was already questioning that statement.

“Peter! The door please!”

“Kind of busy!”

May didn’t swallow her groan this time. She set the knife down, wiped off her hands, and answered the door.

“Oh, Tony. Peter’s not expecting you for another half hour,”

Tony pulled off his glasses. “I know. I came here to talk with you actually,”

And May felt a knot in her stomach. She opened the door and gestured for him to come in. “I’m working on dinner. Hope you don’t mind?”

“No, no. By all means. I just needed to make sure we were all good,”

“Why wouldn’t we be?” she asked, moving on to cut the second potato.

In all honesty, May was having to remind herself that they were good. Everything was good and okay and fine. And today was the first official day Tony was picking up Peter for training at the Avenger’s compound.

She didn’t like thinking about it as Tony preparing Peter for more dangerous battles and fights.

Tony pulled out one of the bar stools, scraping it loudly against the floor. “Because I’m basically teaching him how not to get killed,”

May loudly set the knife down and looked up again. “I already told him it was fine. He can train with you twice a week. And it’s good for him anyways,”

“But you’re not okay with it,”

“What is this, Tony? What do you want me to say?”

“I don’t know,” Tony said, finally dropping the eye contact. “That he’s grounded, that he has too much homework tonight, that he’s hung up his suit,”

May gave a wry laugh. “You know as well as I do, he’d never do that. And I could never make him either,”

Tony smirked, silently agreeing with May.

But it was true. She had known for a while now. And he kept to the rules the set and was actually being careful during his patrols. But that wore off. He still followed her rules, but he was becoming reckless again and the self-sacrificing Parker trait was coming out in full force.

He was literally swinging into danger every day and May could do nothing to stop him.

And for what had to be the millionth time since Ben died, May asked her if she was doing a good job raising Peter on her own.

But she knew there was at least one person who could help her. As much as she hated to admit it.

“Tony, I asked you to do this because he needs this. I _need_ this, to know that he’s got training to get him safely out of the bigger stuff,”

“And that’s exactly what I plan to do. The kid is going to keep throwing himself into these situations, so might as well make sure he’s prepared,”

And as if speaking of him summoned him, Peter came out of his room. “May, do you know-“ He stopped when he saw Tony sitting in the kitchen while May continued cutting the potatoes. “Mr. Stark! I didn’t know you were here already. I’m, um-“

“Don’t sweat it, kid. Just came to have a quick chat with your aunt. But I think we’re all good now, right?”

May nodded. “Yeah, we’re good,”

“Okay, well, I’m ready to go actually. I mean, only if you are too, Mr. Stark,”

“Sure, let’s get going Underroos,” Tony said, standing up and clapping Peter’s back. “I’ll bring him home in time for you to tuck him in,”

“Great, because he doesn’t sleep good if he doesn’t get his goodnight kiss either,” May threw in, smiling at how red Peter’s face was.

The two left and May was left alone. She looked down at the recipe. She wasn’t trying to impress anyone. She put away the potatoes, thankful she didn’t cut up anything else, and pulled out the take-out menu for sushi.

And she tried not to think about if this was a good decision on her part as Peter’s parent.

* * *

 

_+1_

May normally wore socks when she went to bed. Especially once the first official gust of autumn came in. But it was between two and three in the morning and her socks had slipped off in her sleep. She just needed to pee really quick. No need to go through the struggle of finding them and putting them back on just for a quick trip to the restroom.

She stepped out of her bedroom and headed to the bathroom.

But the lamp was on in the living room and May stopped. “Peter? That you?” she asked, stifling a yawn.

No answer. And May really had to go pee and she was so sleepy. Yet she still found herself making her way to the living room. She could see his bundled form on the couch and it seemed like he was asleep. “Peter, come on, go to bed,”

And she stepped on a puddle of water. “What…?” she looked at the floor and saw a trail leading from the front door to the living room, stopping at the couch. “Peter? Why’s there water all over the floor?” she asked, the fog from sleep disappearing and being replaced by a heavy weight in her stomach.

May reached the couch and gave Peter a gentle shake. “Peter?” But when she touched him, she felt cold water. “Peter, look at me,” she pulled back the blanket from his face.

His hair was drenched and his lips a purple and he wouldn’t stop shaking. “Oh my God, Peter!”

His skin was freezing and his clothes were drenched. She had no idea what happened or why he wasn’t in his suit or even how long he had been on the couch like this.

She knew she had to get him warm though.

May seemed to act on autopilot. She half-carried, half-dragged him into the bathroom, filling the tub with warm water. She took off his drenched clothes and wrapped him in blankets while she left to turn on the heater and throw some towels and his warmest clothes into the dry to make them even more warm.

She wasn’t a medical expert. She didn’t know any of the complications that could come from hypothermia. She just knew not to warm his body up too quickly.

But the frantic part of her was saying he needed to be warmed up _now_.

Except that could make things worse and May would not let Peter leave her like this.

Half an hour later with May constantly rewarming the water in the tub, Peter finally began stirring.

May straightened from her perch on the floor against the tub. “Peter? Honey, can you hear me?”

He gave a small shiver. May dipped her hand in the water. It was lukewarm again. She let the water drain while at the same time, turning the faucet on for more warm water. She dipped a rag in the water and pressed it against his forehead. His skin wasn’t too cold anymore and his lips were a more natural color. But he still had a few random shivers and May wanted to make sure he completely warmed up before pulling him out of the tub.

“Are you awake?” she asked, pressing the rag to his cheeks.

And his eyes fluttered open and May felt her heart fill with relief.

“Hey there, baby,”

“M’so…ry,” he said, closing his eyes again, but still awake and at least semi-aware of his surroundings.

May let out a deep breath. “Peter, what happened? What did you do?”

“S-she s…sli-slipped. Wa…er. Real-ly cold,”

Yes, she was definitely getting the full story from him once he was more coherent. But in the meantime, she was focused on making sure he stayed warm. “I’ve got your pajamas in the dryer. They’ll be nice and toasty once you get them on. And then maybe I’ll make you some hot chocolate too. You ready for that?”

Peter nodded.

May pressed a kiss to forehead. “I’ll be right back,”

“T-th…anks, M-mom,”

May closed her eyes for a brief moment. When Peter was younger, he used to call her that by accident frequently. She hadn’t heard that in such a long time.

But when she heard from him in that moment, she felt that maybe she was doing all right at this parenting thing.


End file.
